Stabbing suspect shot, killed by police
Terry Adam Boone
GASTONIA -- An undercover detective with the Gastonia Police Department shot and killed a 20-year-old man suspected of stabbing four people.
It happened Thursday night near the corners of South Marietta Street and Pine Drive in Gastonia. Police Chief Terry Sult says when police arrived to the scene, Terry Adam Boone was stabbing someone with a knife. “In the process of stabbing another individual, Mr. Boone ignored the detective’s commands,” said Sult. At that point, Sult says undercover Detective Scott Barnes fired one shot, killing Boone.
"If a person is threatening another individual or is threatening the officer himself, the officer has a right to defend that other person or himself,” said Sult.
Police say Boone still had the knife in his hand when he made an aggressive movement toward detectives. His girlfriend, Audreylin Gerfelt, says that’s not like her boyfriend, who she believes would have listened to the officer’s commands.
"I don't believe he went after that cop with that knife. There ain't no way I believe that,” said Gerfelt. “He would have stopped. I don't believe that. There's no way."
Gerfelt says before police arrived, a car had pulled up and the people inside the vehicle got out yelling threats at Boone. "The next thing I know I hear him hollering. That guy stabbed him first… He stabbed him first."
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A criminal background check of Boone shows he has received charges dating back to June 2004. Most were minor offences including breaking and entering and drug possession. A woman who did not want to be identified said the neighborhood could be better. “There’s a lot of drug users and sales in this neighborhood,” she said.
Gastonia Police say there are drug problems within a 10 block radius of the shooting, but wouldn’t comment on a possible motive for the stabbings.
Police say three of the four stabbing victims – ranging from 22-48 years of age – were treated and released. They say the fourth victim drove himself to Gastonia Memorial Hospital but left before police arrived. The State Bureau of Investigations is taking over the criminal investigation. Gastonia Police will investigate the shooting internally, with Barnes is on administrative leave with pay.